Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA)

PREA is a federal law that was signed on September 4, 2003 and became effective on August 20, 2012. PREA Standards 28 C.F.R. Part 115 provide rules to prevent, detect and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment within correctional systems. PREA applies to all federal and state prisons, jails, police lock-ups, private facilities and community correctional settings that house male and female adults and juveniles.

PREA establishes rules to keep incarcerated adults and youth safe, mandates national data collection efforts, provides funding for program development and research, and creates a national commission to develop standards and accountability measures.

The Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) has zero tolerance towards all forms of sexual abuse and sexual harassment of youth in custody. DCFS accomplishes this by:

• Having a statewide PREA Coordinator and facility based PREA Compliance Managers.
• Having policies and procedures in place to prevent, detect and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment.
• Completing youth risk assessments upon admission.  
• Continually educating staff and youth on PREA to promote a culture that discourages sexual abuse and sexual harassment.  
• Increasing awareness of safe reporting mechanisms available to youth, staff and third parties  while protecting reporters from retaliation.
• Aggressively responding to, investigating, and supporting the prosecution of sexual misconduct in all facilities, in partnership with law enforcement and the courts.
• Establishing data collection systems to accurately track sexual abuse and sexual harassment allegations and analyze incidents in order to continually improve the safety of youth.
• Participating in PREA audits to ensure each facility and the agency maintain compliance.

PREA Resources

• PREA Standards - Juveniles
• PREA Audit, Administrative, 2016
• PREA Audit, Administrative, 2015
• PREA Audit, Nevada Youth Training Center, 2017
• PREA Audit, Nevada Youth Training Center, 2014
• PREA Audit, Caliente Youth Center, 2017
• PREA Audit, Caliente Youth Center, 2015
• PREA Audit, Summit View Youth Center, 2016
• PREA Audit, China Springs Youth Camp, 2016
• PREA Audit, Spring Mountain Youth Camp, 2017
• PREA Annual Report, 2017
• PREA Annual Report, 2016
• PREA Annual Report, 2015
• State PREA Policy
• Caliente Youth Center Staffing Plan
• Nevada Youth Training Center Staffing Plan
• Summit View Youth Center Staffing Plan
• For more information on PREA go to http://www.prearesourcecenter.org/

Anyone needing to report a PREA incident may report it electronically here Report a PREA Incident  or call toll-free at 1-888-421-9971.